Why You Need Project Deadlines

You’ve got some projects of your own. It’s non-work stuff. This new one is something you know you can make a little money from, but you’ve got some learning to do before it turns into anything. It’s your little secret. No one ever has to find out about them if you don’t want to. There is no accountability if you decide to can the idea along the way. You won’t be disappointing anyone if nothing comes of it.

As time moves on you know this is more viable. It’s a great idea and you’re well on your way to making it happen. Now is the time to mark a launch date. You need to know what you’re working towards. Give yourself some focus and apply a little pressure to yourself. Take it from someone that’s been there countless times before – if you don’t, you’re susceptible to getting distracted by another idea or just falling out of love with this one.

You can spend forever researching and thinking that you’re progressing. The truth is that if you’re not getting any work doing, you’re more than likely just wasting time.

This advice is so obvious, but it’s one of those things that I didn’t take seriously for the longest time. I went through a good 5-6 years thinking I had enough deadlines from work to impose them on myself. Now working for myself from home, I know I would fall behind (and get bored of) things that I don’t have deadlines for. It’s all about keeping the momentum going for a lot of them and this is the easiest way to set yourself up for success.

Having good project management software isn’t enough. In fact, most of them make it too easy to push things back if need be. It really helps to set boundaries for yourself and encourages you to crack on with the things you know you need to do.

Deadlines can be made for all levels. You can do them for a particular launch date – like for a new website. Deadlines can be for things far smaller – like setting an hour-long timeframe in which to create a blog post. Having one just means you have a more targeted goal to work towards. If you haven’t done anything like this before, you might not know what deadline is realistic. That’s fine, but still have a rough idea in mind.

That combination means that if I dedicate all of my time to that new project, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t have the majority of it ready to roll in two weeks (depending on what that thing is). If I’m not strict with myself and don’t use the things I have access to, I can stretch each of these things out to take three times as long.

You will probably have completely different skills and privileges. Knowing and taking advantage of these things makes it a lot easier for you to create reasonable deadlines and get things done on time. Now crack on and get it done.

:::::::::::::
- Chiino
I don't do comments around here, so let's keep the conversation going on Twitter. If Twitter's not your thing, give us an email.